After recently revealing that a port strike along the East Coast of the US would cost the nation’s economy roughly US$1 billion per day, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has followed through.
From the start of October, roughly 45,000 port workers have walked off the job, with 36 ports along the east and Gulf coasts impacted by the industrial action.
ILA president Harold J. Daggett joined picket lines through the port of Newak/Elizabeth at the start of the strike, rallying tens of thousands of ILA members to remain strong and united.
On the stroke of midnight on October 1, the workers launched the first coastwide strike in the ILA in nearly half a century, with the union demanding a $5 per hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement, plus no automation or semi-automation while the union retains all container royalty funds for members.
“We are now demanding $5 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new ILA-USMX Master Contract,” Daggett says.
“Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.”
In a display of solidarity, International Longshore and Warehouse Union president Bobby Olvera Jr. stood beside Daggett when the strike commenced.
A response from the White House called for collective bargaining, urging the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to “come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers of the ILA”.
“Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic and in some cases profits grew in excess of 800 per cent compared to their profits prior to the pandemic,” US President Joe Biden says.
“Executive compensation has grown in line with those profits and profits have been returned to shareholders at record rates. It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well.
“As our nation climbs out of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, dockworkers will play an essential role in getting communities the resources they need. Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits. My administration will be monitoring for any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers, including those on the USMX board.
“It is time for USMX to negotiate a fair contract with the longshoremen that reflects the substantial contribution they’ve been making to our economic comeback.”
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